Justice has been served to seven New York City Police officers after being arrested on Wednesday on prostitution, corruption and misconduct charges in connection with an illegal gambling and prostitution ring.

The three sergeants, two detectives and two officers are suspected of providing protection for the ring’s activities in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens. According to reports, more than 40 civilians are also in custody or being sought in connection with the three year investigation. Two other uniformed officers were put on modified desk duty and stripped of their guns and badges

Police commissioner James P. O’Neill said the arrests, the internal affairs unit and the Queens district attorney have “sent a clear message: There is no place in the NYPD for criminal or unethical behavior.” He continued, “Today, those who swore an oath and then betrayed it have felt the consequences of that infidelity. The people of this department are rightly held to the highest standard and should they fail to meet it, the penalty will be swift and severe.”

Police say that during the three-year inquiry, they sent dozens of undercover officers to locations where the ring was thought to operate and conducted more than 300 hours of surveillance as well as physical evidence and obtained court warrants to intercept the officers’ electronic communications.

Carlos Cruz, 41, who worked in the detective squad in the 69th Precinct in Canarsie, Brooklyn; Louis Failla, 49, who was assigned to evidence collection in southern Queens; and Cliff Nieves, 37, an investigator in the Transit Bureau. They were taken into custody along with two detectives, Giovanny Rojas-Acosta, 40, who was assigned to the Central Investigations Division, and Rene Samaniego, 43, who worked in the vice squad in southern Brooklyn. Officers Giancarlo Raspanti, 43, of the 109th Precinct in Flushing, Queens, and Steven Nieves, 32, of the 84th Precinct in Brooklyn Heights were also arrested.

Unfortunately, being a member of the NYPD means that all privacy goes out the window, so folks are getting exposed. It’s nice to see justice being served though, don’t you think?